In Ukrainian director Kateryna Gornostai’s coming-of-age feature Stop-Zemlia, there’s an image early on of two young men playing badminton. Their fellow student Masha (Maria Fedorchenko) watches as one of them attempts to pass the shuttlecock to the other. But due to the wind, it comes back. The wind returns the shuttlecock again and again.
Masha is a high school student in Ukraine. She lives for only a few things: her best friends Yana (Yana Isaienko) and Senia (Arsenii Markov), her cell phone photography and Instagram account, her unrequited love for classmate Sasha (Oleksandr Ivanov), and an anonymous correspondence (whom she hopes is Sasha). Still–unlike the shuttlecock–nothing ever comes back to Masha. “I don’t know what is worse,” Yana ponders aloud to her one day. “Not liking someone, or when it’s unrequited.” Masha doesn’t miss a beat in her reply, “Unrequited love is definitely worse.”
Stop-Zemlia has typical coming-of-age themes: taking chances, growing into your identity, and grappling with your confusing teenage emotions. Sasha’s risks are different from Masha’s, but related. Handsome and popular, he seems to cruise through life easily, even callously at times. But like Masha, and all his peers, he holds himself back from taking certain chances and divulging a rich inner life. Gornostai doesn’t shy away from these complexities. Her documentary filmmaking experience elevates these themes and characters, as she intersperses throughout the film non-scripted interviews with the cast to shine a revealing light on both the actors and characters.
The title of the Ukrainian coming-of-age feature, Stop-Zemlia, refers to a game the characters often play at school. Blindfolded, one must stumble around, trying to catch someone else while all the players look on, laughing. It’s a risk-taking game requiring one to eschew self-consciousness and hope for a pay-off. Of course, sometimes risks don’t pay off, and efforts don’t come back around to us. But sometimes it’s taking the shot that matters. Because all the shots these young people do and don’t take will affect them moving forward. And they will move forward. Highly recommended.
What public library shelves would this title be on?
Stop-Zemlia should be purchased for narrative film, coming-of-age, and world cinema library shelves.
What kind of film collection would this title be suitable for?
Stop-Zemlia belongs in film collections celebrating Ukrainian cinema, particularly coming-of-age films.
What type of library programming could use this title?
Library events that watch and discuss international films should absolutely consider hosting a public screening of the Ukrainian coming-of-age drama, Stop-Zemlia. Kateryna Gornostai’s film is not only a moving drama but also a window into life in a Ukrainian high school.